Chapter Text
January 20, 2022
12:15 pm
Randy often didn’t have a lot to look forward to. His life had been stuck in a similar loop for the last three years: waking up, going to work, and fending off potential muggers attempting to steal his last bit of change. It was, frankly, miserable.
However, he had one thing to look forward to in these recent months- Oliver Swift. The flannel-wearing, infectiously enthusiastic cinema worker. He seemed to glow with a kind of happiness that Randy felt he had been missing for the majority of his life. Randy felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame.
The two had planned to meet up at Dialtown’s biggest- and only- park. Nearby coffee shops tended to shoo Randy away before he had a chance to loiter. This park meetup had Randy counting down the days, hours, and minutes. He had been so anxious to see Oliver that he had arrived thirty minutes before the set time, just in case he had happened to show up earlier.
When Oliver did show up, Randy lit up. He stood up and waved both of his hands frantically. He felt overjoyed when Oliver reciprocated, a similar grin plastered on his face.
Oliver donned his usual outfit- red flannel paired with surprisingly nice dress shoes and his signature fez resting atop his marvelously unique wallphone- Randy remembered Oliver telling him how he made it himself.
“Randy! Darn it, you beat me here. I was hopin’ I’d get to surprise you.” He grinned, pointing his finger guns at Randy.
Randy shrugged, returning Oliver’s smile. He felt a small twinge of anxiety, and his excitement faltered slightly. “O-oh, I’m sorry.. You d-didn’t have anything planned, did you?”
“Just seein’ you today!”
Oliver and Randy now both occupied the bench closest to Gingi’s wretched tent. In any other circumstance, Randy would have refused to come here- he had to deal with the swans here for his work hours, so why should he spend his downtime so close to those feathered monsters? However, the swans appeared to keep fifty feet in between them and Gingi’s tent. Randy personally didn’t blame them- he felt as if his fight or flight instincts were set off at the mere thought of seeing Gingi. Or was that the feeling of friendship?
Oliver was playing with one of the buttons on his flannel, absentmindedly talking about something that ultimately didn’t matter, but Randy was happy to listen anyways. He rested his chin on his hands and leaned forward ever so slightly, admiring Oliver while he talked.
“...So some girl I hadn’t seen in at least five years started chatting me up. I think she said somethin’ about me lookin’ good for my early twenties- sayin’ something about how different I looked and how she didn’t even recognize me originally… whatever that means.”
Randy hummed, an odd feeling thumping in his chest. “M-maybe she just wanted to compliment you or something.. I-I don’t blame her.”
Oliver grinned cheekily, leaning himself forward so that the two were practically receiver to receiver. “You think I look good?”
Randy jerked back, turning his head away from Oliver. “Ahem! Wh-wh-what else d-did she say?”
Oliver snickered, comfortably leaning back and crossing his legs. “Well, she invited me to this pretty gnarly sounding party- a little get together after a few years.”
“Thursday’s a bit of an odd d-day to throw a party. Wh-why not on Friday, o-or over the weekend?”
“Dunno- we’re not bound to a school schedule anymore, so the weekend’s free game.”
“There’s still the work week..”
“Some people have Thursdays off- whatever, it’s at night anyways!” Oliver suddenly stiffened, and he lunged for Randy’s shoulders. “DUDE!”
Randy instantly shrugged his shoulders forward and sunk into himself, squeezing his optical sensors shut. “Gah! I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry! What happened? I-I-I didn’t mean it!” He raised his hands to protect his head.
Oliver pulled back, gently taking Randy’s hands. “Sorry, R! I got a bit excited, shouldn’t have startled you like that.” He gave Randy’s shoddily bandaged hands a gentle squeeze. “Sorry!”
Randy peeked at Oliver, and at the sight of Oliver’s hands holding his. “..I-I- um. It’s- it’s f-fine.” Oliver’s hands were warm on his oddly cold fingers. “Wh-what got you so excited in th-the first place?”
Oliver’s grip tightened, sending a bolt of pain through Randy’s nerves. “What if… you were my plus one for this incredibly gnarly social gathering?”
Randy felt his heart drop into his stomach at the thought of willingly throwing himself into a gathering of that magnitude. “I-I don’t know. You were the one who got invited, I-I shouldn’t- it would b-be rude if I-”
“Dude, I’m sure I can bring a plus one. Nobody would mind, especially because of how groovy you are!”
Randy squirmed under Oliver’s anticipation. He didn’t want to say no, but he really, really didn’t want to go. He hated high school, and this party would be full of the same people who had made his life miserable for four years.
However, the idea of letting Oliver down… seeing how disappointed he would be if he said no… “I- Oliver, I d-don’t know..”
“Come oooooon, Randy!” Oliver whined, unclasping their hands to instead shake his bicep. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen some of these dudes, ‘n’ I’d feel better if I had you there with me!”
Randy hadn’t been to a party since… since, well, his Junior year of high school. Even then, he didn’t want to go to that party either. It still left a bitter taste in his mouth. “I-I don’t know.. I’m not really the kind of guy you’d find at parties..”
“Just show up for a little bit!”
“I-I-I- I have work?”
Oliver raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I thought this was your day off, dude?” Randy hung his head, words escaping him.
Oliver groaned, wrapping his arms around Randy’s arm and practically burying his head in his shoulder. “But what if they’re mean to me?”
“You’re twenty-three years old.”
Oliver mumbled something unintelligible into Randy, which he had to admit was kind of cute. “Please, Randy? I don’t want to go alone.”
Randy stared down at Oliver, who met his gaze with the most soulfully tragic expression he could muster. Don’t let him down echoed throughout his being, making his head throb painfully. Randy sighed, rubbing the space under his screen and just above his buttons. “Fine, o-ok. Give me the address, and I’ll be there.”
Oliver shook his arm ferociously- he may as well have popped Randy’s arm off. “Yay! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Gah, you’re the grooviest!”
Randy shook his head, but he couldn’t help but smile at Oliver’s energy- in a way, it was starting to make Randy excited.
2:30 pm
Randy sat in his dumpster, staring at the graffiti that covered the inside of his home. Party… He wasn’t equipped to clean himself up enough to look presentable. The least he could do was scrub the wax out of his receiver pores, right?
Maybe he could scrounge up something nice to wear… maybe a new batch of clothes had been dropped in his dumpster? Maybe if he ditched the denim, his plaid shirt would be fine…
Would Oliver be ok with that?
Randy recoiled, nearly banging his fragile head against the dumpster wall. Oliver was going to be there. Oliver, who was under the impression that Randy didn’t live in a dumpster. If Randy showed up the clothes he wore basically every day, surely he’d figure out. He’d know how disgusting Randy was, barely managing to smell nice when they met up.
This time, he couldn’t wave it off and say Oh, don’t mind the smell! Fresh off my job on animal control, it’s just swan saliva! Because Oliver knew that he didn’t work today.
At the very least, he needed to borrow clothes. He obviously couldn’t ask Oliver, Gingi was always naked… who else did he know?
Karen? No- she wore dresses, and Randy was not outgoing enough to crossdress at a party. Bunny was absolutely out of the question. Randy feared that he would get evicted if he asked for anything more after his last rent extension.
Suddenly, it hit him. He nearly slipped forward with how fast he stood up to leave his dumpster. He knew someone who could save him.
“Seriously?” Ticket Jerry stared at him through his bulletproof glass, an exasperated look plastered across his face.
Randy had his hands clasped together, and he was just short of begging on his knees. “P-please! I d-don’t have anything to w-wear, and you’re the-the only person I-I could think of to g-go to..”
Jerry buried his head in his hands, and Randy could hear a muffled sigh. “Ask your little boyfriend for help. I’m tied up here until late, I can’t leave my post to get you clothes.”
Boyfriend? “Are- are you talking about Oliver?”
“Have you seen the way that boy looks at you? Rotary-Christ, you’re more oblivious than I thought you were.”
“N-no- Jerry, we’re just friends. Th-there’s nothing- I-”
Jerry shook his head, a small smile pulling on the corners of his mouth. “I’m teasing. Ok then, tell me something, Jade. Why are you going to this party?”
Randy’s mouth went dry, and he struggled to get anything but static out of his receiver. “B-because-”
Jerry leaned forward, an intense look in his sensors. “Listen to me; in the time that I’ve known you, you’ve shown yourself to positively hate getting pushed out of your comfort zone. This,” he vaguely gestured to Randy. “Is out of character. You’re doing this for a reason, to which I can only guess.”
“Oliver.” He mumbled. “I’m going because of Oliver.”
Jerry leaned back, seemingly content with what he’d gotten out of him. “What time is this party?”
Randy brightened, the first hopeful look Jerry had seen on him. “I-it starts at 8:30, b-but Oliver said he’d p-probably go earlier.”
Jerry hummed absentmindedly, leaning back to check something in his ticket booth. “Tell ya what- swing by here in a few hours, I’ll have something for you. Do you need cologne or anything? How about something to cover that bandage?” Jerry gestured toward Randy’s head, instantly reminding Randy of the crux of his issues. He didn’t want to explain to former classmates why he had “fuckface” scrawled on his forehead.
Randy nodded, scratching the back of his neck in thought. “M-maybe a beanie or something… it is still cold, I-I could pass it off. Y-you’re the best, Jerry, I can’t thank y-you enough!”
Jerry waved him off. “Don’t mention it. Now, are you going to buy a ticket or what?”
8:27 pm
Randy stared down at the address messily scrawled onto the paper scrap. He was pretty sure he was going in the right direction, but his sense of direction was practically hopeless.
Jerry had done a fantastic job at getting something together for Randy, especially so last minute. He wore a nice black button-up with a thicker jacket overtop. Thick boots added two inches to his height, finally pushing him to six foot. His clothes and temporary height alone gave him a boost of confidence that felt foreign. Jerry had come through with the beanie as well, which Randy would be forever grateful for. He didn’t want to explain to old classmates what had caused that.
Gravel crunched under his boots as he walked along the brick wall. He was in an unfamiliar neighborhood- still in Dialtown, but he had never had a reason to come here. Every so often he’d check the paper, then look up to examine various home’s addresses.
Finally, Randy was standing in front of a break in the wall, with a large house looming not too far off. Flashing lights and loud noises and the chattering of many, many people made him nervous.
Most importantly, these were people he didn’t know.
Randy was tempted to turn around and leave, he didn’t even want to be here. He began to walk the way he came, but whispers of guilt tugged at the corners of his mind.
Oliver. He’d be expecting him.
He was only here because of Oliver.
His eyes returned to the looming danger in front of him. All he wanted to do was run in the opposite direction, to make up some excuse as to why he couldn’t show up, to go back to the safety of his dumpster.
He couldn’t- Jerry had gone out of his way to help him get ready for tonight, and if he was honest with himself, he wanted to see Oliver tonight. His conversation with Jerry kept replaying in his head, and Randy couldn’t stop imagining Oliver’s disappointment at not seeing him.
He felt sick.